Phenological segregation of insecticide resistance alleles in the codling moth Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae): a case study of ecological divergences associated with adaptive changes in populations

Abstract

Intrapopulation variability in the seasonal regulation of insect lifecycles has been shown to be due partly to genetic changes. Selection for insecticide resistance in the codling moth Cydia pomonella results from allelic substitution at two to three loci in south-eastern French populations of this species. However, such an adaptive process has been associated with an increased heterogeneity in the developmental responses to climatic factors such as temperature. In this paper, we investigate whether such pleiotropic effects of resistance on development induce a significant discrepancy in seasonal regulation in this species. The seasonal changes in a susceptible and two insecticide-resistant homozygous genotypes of C. pomonella, as well as their reciprocal F1 progeny, were followed under natural conditions during the reproductive season through the emergence events of adults, within-generation developmental rates and the number of generations. A significant delay in the occurrences of homozygous resistant genotypes resulted from significantly lower pre-imaginal developmental times relative to homozygous susceptible ones. Subsequent assessment of the number of generations indicated significantly higher diapause propensities in carriers of the resistance alleles (37·0–76·2%) than in susceptible homozygotes (6·7%), which mostly pupated towards a third generation of adults. In the light of these findings, pleiotropic effects of adaptive changes might be a crucial source of divergence in seasonal regulation at the population level, involving significant life-history trade-offs. In addition to man-made selective factors during the reproductive season, such an effect on the lifecycle could be a key component in the process of selection for resistance genes in south-eastern France C. pomonella populations.